Apparatus for harvesting grapes

ABSTRACT

A high chassis vehicle adapted to straddle and travel along a row of plants has a catcher floor divided along its longitudinal center for passing along opposite sides of the plant row. The catcher floor includes two sets of resiliently flexible brushes which are bridged at the central floor division. Vertically reciprocable plant shakers are provided above the floor.

O Umted States Patent 1 1 1111 3,772,60

Sell Nov, 20, 1973 [54] APPARATUS FOR HARVESTING GRAPES 3,030,756 4/1962 Morrison et al. 56/ 13.5

3,439,482 4/1969 Orton 56/330 [75] Abdul swthport, 3,184,908 5/1965 Rust 56/330 73 Assigneez t Corporation, Edenton N'C. 3,325,984 6/1967 Christie et al. 56/330 3,494,117 2/1970 Weygandt et al.. 56/330 [22] Filed: Sept. 7, 1971 2,808,694 10/1957 Beran 56 35 [21] Appl No: 178,021 3,538,694 11/1970 Holloway 56/330 Primary Examiner-Russell R. Kinsey U-S. Cl. Attorney Munson H Lane et aL [51] Int. Cl. Alllg 19/00 [58] Field of Search 56/330, 327, 328,

56/126-130, 119 ABSTRACT A high chassis vehicle adapted to straddle and travel [56] References Clted along a row of plants has a catcher floor divided along UNITED STATES PATENTS its longitudinal center for passing along opposite sides 3,473,311 10/1969 Fox 56/330 of the Plant The catcher floor includes two Sets 3,579,971 5/1971 Sagouspe et 1, 56/330 of resiliently flexible brushes which are bridged at the 3,601,965 8/1971 Kaessbohrer et al. 56/330 central floor division. Vertically reciprocable plant 3,636,688 1/ 1972 Fonton et al. 56/330 hakers are provided above the floor. 3,260,041 7/1966 McRoberts et al. 56/119 2,952,962 9/1960 Suverkrop 56/130 36 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDHnvm i975 SHEET 10? 5 INVENTOR ABDUL HARRY SELL ATTORNEY PAIENTEDNnvmms I 3.772.866

SHEET 20F 3 1 FIG. 2.

INVENTOR ABDUL HARRY SELL ATTORNEY PAIENIEDuuvzo mu $772,856 SHEET 3 UF 3 INVENTOR ABDUL HARRY SELL ATTORNEY APPARATUS FOR HARVESTING GRAPES This invention relates to new and useful improvements in harvesters for grapes or the like, and the principal object of the invention is to facilitate the harvesting operation so that the grapes are effectively removed from the plants and are efficiently gathered with minimum losses by falling to the ground.

This object is attained by providing the harvester with improved plant tickling means including horizontal arms which engage a row of plants from opposite sides "and are vertically reciprocated for effective removal of grapes from the plants, such arms also being horizontally swingable to facilitate passage thereof along the plant row.

Another important feature of the invention resides in providing the harvester with an improved catcher floor including sets of resiliently flexible, fruit catcher means herein shown as bristles which are preferably so shingled as to efficiently collect the grapes without damaging them and with minimum losses caused by grapes falling to the ground, the catcher floor being slanted so that the grapes gravitate into a collecting conveyor means.

Another important feature of the invention resides in I mounting the catcher floor onthe harvester vehicle in a floating manner which enables the floor including both sets of fruit catcher means to move laterally to a limited extent when the vehicle deviates from exact centering with respect to a row of plants being harvested.

With the foregoing more important object and features in view and such other objects and features which may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference designate like parts, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the grape harvester in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 i is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line 2-2 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged perspective view of components of the catcher floor; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing a modified arrangement of the catcher floor.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the numeral in FIG. 1 generally designates a grape harvester having the usual high chassis vehicle 12 which is adapted to straddle and travel along a row of plants. The vehicle is provided on its deck 13 with a power plant, steering mechanism, operators seat, et cetera, all of which are conventional and well known so that illustration thereof in the drawings is unnecessary.

The improved catcher floor is designated generally by the numeral 14. It extends transversely from the opposite sides of the vehicle toward its longitudinal center indicated at 15, where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row.

The catcher floor comprises a pair of transversely spaced floor boards l6, l7 and two sets of brushes 18, 19 forming fruit catcher means which are mounted on the inner longitudinal edges of the respective floor boards. The brushes extend transversely inwardly from the floor boards and are overlapped at the central floor division, as shown at 20 in FIG. 4.

As will be apparent from FIG. 3, each brush set l8, 19 consists of a row of U-shaped bristles having their bight portions fastened in pairs of apertures 21 formed in a longitudinal mounting member 22, the members 22 of the two brush sets being suitably hinged at 51 to the longitudinal inner edges of the floor boards 16, 17, as already mentioned. The brush bristles are resiliently flexible and are so closely spaced in the set that angular bridging bristles shingle the space formed by the deflection of the bristles as the picker travels along the grape row so that grapes do not fall through them onto the ground.

The upper arm 18a of each U shaped bristle or bristle tuft in the brush 18 is longer than the lower arm 18b in order that the angle of deflection of the upper arm will be greater than the angle of deflection of the lower arm 18b as the vine or post travels through the passage path between the brushes 18 and 19. It is an important feature of this invention that the gap, of V formed by the deflection of the bristles be kept to a minimum. To further this goal the platform members 16 and 17 are vibrated up and down by suitable means, such as the reciprocating arms 33, in order to reduce the drag upon the bristles by the grape vine trunks or posts passing between the bristles. The reduction of the drag increases the speed with which the bristle arms return to their normal position and thus the bristles will hug more closely to the vines or posts.

Also the upper brush 18 is angled more closely to the horizontal than the lower brush 19 as seen in FIG. 1. By having the brush 19 at a greater angle than the brush 18, the deflection of the bristles in brush 19 is less than the deflection of bristle in brush l8 and the bristles in brush 19 tend to return to their normal position more rapidly than do the bristles in brush 18. Grapes on the brush 29 will clear the brush 19 and skip into the conveyor 23 more rapidly because of the greater angle of the brush.

The angle of brush sets 18 and 19 about hinges 51 may be adjusted by means of adjusting studs 57 bearing against the members 22.

The bristles of brushes 18 and 19 preferably are relatively stiff but still flexible so that they tend to return to a normal neutral position which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the picker. Bristles made of polyamide synthetic resins such as nylon have been found to be suitable for this purpose, but other bristles of natural fiber, synthetic fiber, wire, or composite fiber may be used. The brushes 18 and 19 may be formed with tufts of multiple U-shaped bristles, or may be formed with closely spaced single rods or fibers bent in U- shape and fall within the scope of this invention. Alternatively the brushes may be formed with slightly spaced tufts of U-shaped bristles with single fiber bristles interposed.

It is desirable to have the vines or posts pass closer to the brush 18 which is provided with the cover 24 (FIGS. 2 and 3) so that there will be less deflection of the bristles of the opposite brush 19. This may be accomplished in several ways. One way is to make the brush 19 of greater density than the brush 18. Another way is to provide a tension spring 49 between the support 27 and the chassis 12 so as to bias the platform 17 slightly to the right.

An adjusting screw 50 is provided inorder to vary the spring bias or resistance.

It is the responce to this resistance that causes the catcher floor to shift laterally bringing the pre selected longitudinal segment of the opposing sets of bridging bristles into alignment with the trunks & post so that they part the bristles along the passage path that will permit the maximum opportunity for hugging or contour tracing of the passing post & trunks by the bristles as they flex for passage by forming a shingeled cavity, detouring fruit loss, that progresses rearwardly around the trunk or post as the harvester advances.

As shown in FIG. 1, the catcher floor 14 is slanted transversely of the vehicle so that the floor board 16 is relatively high and the board 17 is relatively low. The brush set 18 is overlapped on top of the brush set 19 and thus the grapes which fall from the plants gravitate from the high side to the low side of the floor where they drop onto a collecting conveyor 23 which delivers them into an elevator (not shown) extending to the deck 13 of the vehicle. The upper bristle set 18 is preferably supporting a flexible sheet 24 of plastic, or the like, one longitudinal edge portion of which is hinged by a pair of keeper strips 25 and fasteners 26 to flooring and the mounting member 22 of the brush set 18. The sheet 24 shingles the entire brush set 18, including that portion which overlaps the bristle set 19, and the flexible 24 gives away as the bristle sets are deflected apart by grape plants and posts when the machine travels along the plant row. As this occurs, the free outer edge portion of the sheet 24 turns up and forms a dam which retains grapes collecting on top of the sheet and prevents them from dropping through spaces around the trunk and the posts when the bristles are parted.

When the vine or post has passed and the brush sets come together, the weight of the grapes on top of the sheet 24 causes the turned up edge portion to be disposed flat against the upper brush set, and the grapes roll off the shingling means or bridge 24 onto the lower bristle set 19 and onto the floor board 17, whereupon they drop into the conveyor 23. The catcher floor 14 is suspended in a floating manner from the deck 13 of the vehicle, as by a set of bars or straps 27 which are connected at their lower end to the floor boards 16, 17 and are pivoted to the deck 13 at their upper end as at 28. The pivots 28 of the straps 27 permit the catcher floor 14 to move laterally to a limited extent as indicated by the arrow 29 in FIG. 1, so that the central division of the floor at the brush set overlap 20 may shift laterally with respect to the longitudinal center of the vehicle when the vehicle deviates laterally from its normal centralized path above the row of plants. The straps 27 are connected together by a tie rod 30 which causes the catcher floor to move as a unit and prevents the high and low side portions of the catcher floor from moving too close together or too far apart, thus assuring that a proper amount of brush overlap is maintained at 20.

The catcher floor 14 in FIG. 1 is slanted laterally in one direction and offers the economy of a single conveyor, but a somewhat different arrangement of the floor is shown in FIG. 4 particularly adaptable to low growing or ridge grown fruits such as blueberries without detracting from its efficiency in grapes. Here the brush set 19, the floor board 17 and the conveyor 23 are as before on one side of the center line 15. On the other side the brush set 18a, the floor board 16a and another conveyor 23a are similarly provided and arranged so that the floor has a high region at the center and low regions at both sides. The brush sets 18a, 19 are still bridged as at 20 and grapes falling on the floor skip off laterally in both directions and onto the two conveyors 23, 23a. In this arrangement the use of a brush covering sheet (such as the sheet 24) is obtained by hanging strips of shingeling sheet from spaced top layer bristles as a flag from a staff and it makes no difference whether the brush set 18a overlaps the set 19 as shown, or is hipped as at the peak ofa roof for minimum deflection of the bristles as the plant passes there between. As will be apparent the shingling means such as the shingling sheet 24 may be applied to either or both the flexible fruit catcher means or brush sets 18 and 19 in the manner shown in FIGS. l-3.

As is customary in harvesters of this type, some type of means are provided for shaking the plants so that the grapes fall off onto the catcher floor. The invention provides a pair of improved plant shaker units designated generally as 31, which are located above the catcher floor at opposite sides of the longitudinal center 15 and near the rear end of the machine which travels in the direction of the arrow 32 in FIG. 2.

Each shaker unit 31 comprises a substantially vertical shaft 33, the lower end portion of which is slidably telescoped in a tubular bearing 34 on the catcher floor board (16 or 17), while the upper end portion of the shaft passes freely through an opening 35 in the deck 13 and is connected as at 36 to an eccentrically offset portion 37 of a rotating sprocket 38. The rotating sprockets are journalled in bearings 39 on the deck 13 and are suitably driven, either by a separate motor (not shown) or by a connecting chain 40 which is driven from the power plant (not shown) of the vehicle.

A plurality of sleeves 41 are rotatably positioned on the shaft 33 and each carries an arm 42 which extends horizontally toward the center of the machine. The several arms 42 are vertically spaced and each of the sleeves 41 is also provided with a shorter, outwardly directed arm 43. A tension spring 44 entends from each arm 43 to the frame of the vehicle and serves to bias the sleeve 41 so that the associated arm 42 normally extends transversely inwardly toward the center line 15. The several sleeves 41, of course, are independently rotatable on the shaft 33, and as the machine travels along the plant row, the arms 42 are individually free to swing horizontally rearwardly as shown at 45 in FIG.2, against the bais of the springs 44, to facilitate passage of the arms along the plants. As each plant is cleared, the springs 44 return the arms 42 to their normal position. The arms 42 on one side of the centerline of the picker are vertically staggered with respect to the arms 42 on the other side of the centerline and the arms 42 project over the centerline in overlapping relationship.

A compression spring 46 is interposed on the shaft 33 between the lowermost of the sleeves 41 and the bearing 34. Similarly, another such spring 47 is provided between the uppermost sleeve and a collar 48 on the shaft, thus maintaining the several sleeves 41 in end-toend relation, yet allowing limited movement thereof up or down on the shaft, quite independent of vertical reciprocation which is imparted to the catcher floors with their attached bristles and to the shaft 33 and to all the arms 42 on the shaft when the sprocket 38 is rotated. The vertical reciprocation of the arms 42, touching the grapes, vines and their usual wire supports, cause ripe grapes to fall off the vines onto the catcher floor 14.

It is to be understood that the shaker shafts 33 fit the bearings 34 quite loosely and that the shaft connections 36 to the crankshaft portion 37 are loose enough for the shaker units 31 to become slightly tilted to one side or the other when the catcher floor 14 moves laterally within limits with respect to the center line 15, as already discussed.

Manifestly, instead of the reciprocating means 36, 37, 38, any other suitable mechanism may be used for reciprocating the shafts 33 of the shaker units 31. It will be also understood that such shaker units are provided on the machine having either the catcher floor 14 shown in FIG. 1 or the modified floor shown in FIG. 4. Provided along the rear edges of the platforms 16 and 17 are upright hurdles 52 and 53 of wood or other material which prevent loose grapes on the platform from being dragged off the rear edges by the grapevines. Upright bristle hurdles 54 and 55 are secured to the inner ends of the hurdles 52 and 53 respectively so as to extend across the rear ends of brush sets 18 and 19 respectively. Bristles 54 and '55 are long enough to intermesh or overlap.

Method of Operation The vines pass between a series of closely spaced selfrelieving synchronized arms 42 that travel in a variable diameter orbital direction at a varied frequency that is greater than the natural resonant frequency of the mass of vines, wire and grapes; thus, the energy of the arms 42 is not transmitted down the vine and wire and the grapes are tickled from the vines only while within the confines of the machine and in a state of ripeness chosen by the operator.

Upon falling from the vine, the grapes are caught upon two platforms 16 and 17 that float to either side to self-align both the platforms and the above described shaking mechanism with any mis-aligned posts or vines. The space between the two platforms, through which the trunk of the vines and posts pass, is bridged by layered bristles which hug around posts and vines, presenting minimal gap or opening through which the fruit can be lost.

If the size of the fruit and spacing of the bristles approach each other and the fruit has a tendency to lodge in the bristles, a layer of light fabric 24 may be attached to the bristles and as vines and posts pass through the fabric will wrinkle up and form a dam that is selfrelieving after the post and vines pass and allow fruit to move uninterrupted to conveyor the.

To facilitate the transference of fruit off the bristles and platforms to the conveyor, vertical energy is conveyed to the platforms 16 and 17 in short pulses that cause the platforms and brushes to vibrate at their natural resonance. This causes the fruit to hop across the platforms and bristles and not become lodged and pile up in trash or bristles.

It is important that the operator be able to adjust the frequency of vibration of the arms 42 in accordance with the density of the grape vines in order to keep the grapes falling inside of the picker. A greater vibration frequency will be required for dense grape vines than for grape vines less dense. The rate of vibration may be controlled in different ways, one being to control the speed of the sprockets 38. Also the amplitude of vibration may be adjusted by changing the throw of the eccentric offsets 37 to control the extent of vibration of the grape vines. The throw of the eccentric offsets 37 is preferably selected to be at least equal to the distance between the fingers 42 on each shaft 33.

While in the foregoing there have been shown and described the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications and equivalents may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fruit harvester vehicle adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor comprising floor members extending transversely of the row from opposite sides of said vehicle toward an intermediate position where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor members including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the floor division position, said sets of fruit catcher means having free end portions adjacent one another and flexible means having edge means adjacent the free ends of said fruit catcher means shingling at least a portion of said catcher means.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said floor includes a pair of transversely spaced floor boards having inner longitudinal edges on which said sets of catcher means are mounted.

3. The device as defined in claim 1 together with I means movably mounting said catcher floor on said vehicle for limited lateral movement as a unit whereby the central floor division may shift transversely with respect to the longitudinal center of the vehicle.

4. In a fruit harvester vehicle adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor comprising floor members extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor division where said sets of catcher means are bridged, said catcher floor being relatively high at one side and relatively low at the other side of the vehicle, and collecting means for receiving fruit from the lower side of said catcher floor.

' 5. The device as defined in claim 4 wherein the set of fruit catcher means on the relatively high side of the catcher floor overlaps the set of catcher means on the relatively low side.

6. The device as defined in claim 4 together with a flexible sheet supported by the set of catcher means on the high side of the catcher floor, said sheet being deformable by its engagement with the plants to form a darn for preventing dropping of fruit between the two sets of catcher means.

7. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said catcher floor is transversely slanted so that it has a relatively high region at the central floor division and relatively low regions at the opposite sides of the vehicle, and collecting means for receiving fruit from opposite sides of the floor.

8. In a fruit harvester comprising a vehicle adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided catcher floor comprising floor members extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of theplant row, and mechanically actuated plant shakers provided on the vehicle above said catcher floor and at opposite sides of the central floor division, means for movably mounting said shakers on said vehicle for limited lateral movement with respect to the longitudinal center of the vehicle in response to resistance of the plants as the vehicle is moved along the row.

9. The device as defined in claim 8 wherein said catcher floor is mounted for limited lateral movement of the floor and of said plant shakers as a unit whereby the central floor division and the shakers may shift transversely of the row of plants.

10. In a fruit harvester adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor including floor members extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor dividion where said sets of catcher means are bridged, means movably mounting said catcher floor for limited lateral movement whereby the central floor division may shift transversely with respect to the row of plants, and means for resiliently biasing said floor laterally in one direction.

11. [n a fruit harvester vehicle adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor including floor members extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor division where said sets of catcher means are bridged, means movably mounting said catcher floor for limited lateral movement whereby the central floor division may shift transversely with respect to the row of plants, and means mounting said fruit catcher means for angular adjustment in a vertical plane.

12. In a fruit harvester adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided into two floor members for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor division where said sets of catcher means are bridged, means movably mounting said catcher floor for limited lateral movement whereby the central floor division may shift transversely with respect to the row of plants, and each fruit catcher means being hingedly mounted along an inner edge ofa respective one of said catcher floor members.

13. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the fruit catcher means are brush sets, and each brush set is shingled with flexible material and caused to vibrate.

14. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the fruit catcher means are brush sets comprised of bristles of varied lengths.

15. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a propelled chassis, fruit removal means and fruit discharge means operatively associated with said removal means, said discharge means including a longitudinally divided catcher floor having an intermediate passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said catcher floor comprising right and left hand sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending generally transversely across said passage and having fixed ends mounted on opposite sides of said passage with the internal free ends of said opposing sets of fruit catcher means terminating in the vicinity of said passage and means mounting said catcher floor on said chassis to insure lateral movement of the floor as a unit relative to said chassis as the vehicle is moved along the row of vines.

16. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprises bristles.

17. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles composed of relatively stiff flexible material.

18. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles are shingled with thin sheet-like material, said shingling material forming a dam-like structure to retain fruit as said bristles are flexed by trunk resistance.

19. The bristles set forth in claim 18 are in a supporting relationship to the shingling material.

20. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 18 wherein fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles are hingedly mounted.

21. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles are vibrated.

22. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the right and left hand sets of fruit catcher means are of different flexibility from each other whereby said sets offer different resistances as they encounter the grape vine trunks.

23. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles are mounted to move laterally to allow opposing sets of bridged bristles to align as the bristles encounter trunk resistance as the harvester advances.

24. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles make up brush like opposing sets wherein the bristles of one set are of greater density than the other to increase resistance to bristle deflection by said trunks thereby affecting said passage path.

25. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles make up brush like opposing sets wherein the bristles of one set are of more stiff construction than the other to increase its resistance to bristle deflection by said trunks thereby affecting said passage path.

26. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a propelled chassis including fruit removal means and fruit discharge means operatively associated with said fruit removal means, said discharge means including a longitudinally divided catcher floor having an intermediate passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said catcher floor comprising right and left hand sets of fruit catcher means extending generaly transversely across said passage and terminating in the vicinity of said passage, and means mounted at generally right angles to said sets of fruit catcher means and at an elevation above said sets forming vine hurdles to free the fruit from vine entanglement.

27. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like compris' ing a propelled chassis including fruit removal means and fruit discharge means operatively associated with said removal means, said discharge means including a longitudinally divided catcher floor having an intermediate passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said catcher floor comprising right and left hand sets of resistantly trunk flexed bristles extending generally transversely across said passage and having fixed ends mounted on opposite sides of said passage with the internal free ends of said opposing sets of bristles terminating in the vicinity of said passage, the sets of bristles being mounted for angular adjustment.

28. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a propelled chassis including fruit removal means and fruit discharge means operatively associated with said removal means, said discharge means including a longitudinally divided catcher floor having an intermediate passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said catcher floor comprising right and left hand sets of resistantly trunk responsive fruit catcher means extending generally transversely across said passage and having fixed ends mounted on opposite sides of said passage with the internal free ends of said opposing sets of fruit catcher means terminating in the vicinity of said passage wherein the fruit catcher means are arranged in sets and in high and low rows in which the fruit catcher means in the lower row are shorter than the fruit catcher means in the upper row.

29. A fruit harvester vehicle comprising a mobile frame adapted to travel along a row of vine trunks in cluding some misaligned trunks, said harvester containing a longitudinally divided catcher floor comprising right and left hand floor members defining an opening longitudinally therebetween to permit passing said trunks as the frame is advanced along a line generally parallel to the mean of said misaligned trunks, said catcher floor having mounting means including means interconnecting said floor members to insure lateral movement of the floor as a unit relative to said harvester frame in response to trunks misaligned to the right or left of said mean line of travel of said harvester.

30. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 29 including means whereby the lateral movement is resistantly directed in response to said trunks.

31. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 29 including means mounted on said frame to vibrate the catcher floor.

32. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a mobile frame adapted to travel along a row of vine trunks and having fruit catcher means, and vine hurdle means mounted to extend generally upwardly from the fruit catcher means to raise the vines and free the grapes from entanglement.

33. In a fruit harvester adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor division where said sets of catcher means are bridged, and means operative'ly associated with the catcher floor and deformable by engagement with the plants for forming a dam to prevent dropping of fruit between the two sets of flexible catcher means.

34. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a propelled chassis including fruit removal means and fruit discharge means operatively associated with said removal means, said discharge means including a catcher floor having a passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said passage extending between right and left hand sets of fruit catcher means which extend generally transversely across said passage and terminate in the vicinity of said passage, and means operatively associated with the catcher floor and deformable by engagement with the plants and forming a dam to prevent dropping of fruit between the two sets of catcher means.

35. A fruit harvester vehicle having fruit removal means and fruit discharge means, a divided fruit catcher floor adapted to receive fruit from said fruit removal means and transfer said fruit to said discharge means, said catcher floor including right and left hand sets of flexible fruit catcher means, providing a passage therebetween for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances, said fruit catcher means being arranged to yieldingly bridge said passage and to provide continuous flow of fruit across the passage in a single direction toward said fruit discharge means.

36. A fruit harvester as defined in claim 35 wherein the fruit catcher floor is downwardly inclined toward said fruit discharge means.

i a a t 

1. In a fruit harvester vehicle adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor comprising floor members extending transversely of the row from opposite sides of said vehicle toward an intermediate position where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor members including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the floor division position, said sets of fruit catcher means having free end portions adjacent one another and flexible means having edge means adjacent the free ends of said fruit catcher means shingling at least a portion of said catcher means.
 2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said floor includes a pair of transversely spaced floor boards having inner longitudinal edges on which said sets of catcher means are mounted.
 3. The device as defined in claim 1 together with means movably mounting said catcher floor on said vehicle for limited lateral movement as a unit whereby the central floor division may shift transversely with resPect to the longitudinal center of the vehicle.
 4. In a fruit harvester vehicle adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor comprising floor members extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor division where said sets of catcher means are bridged, said catcher floor being relatively high at one side and relatively low at the other side of the vehicle, and collecting means for receiving fruit from the lower side of said catcher floor.
 5. The device as defined in claim 4 wherein the set of fruit catcher means on the relatively high side of the catcher floor overlaps the set of catcher means on the relatively low side.
 6. The device as defined in claim 4 together with a flexible sheet supported by the set of catcher means on the high side of the catcher floor, said sheet being deformable by its engagement with the plants to form a dam for preventing dropping of fruit between the two sets of catcher means.
 7. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said catcher floor is transversely slanted so that it has a relatively high region at the central floor division and relatively low regions at the opposite sides of the vehicle, and collecting means for receiving fruit from opposite sides of the floor.
 8. In a fruit harvester comprising a vehicle adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided catcher floor comprising floor members extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, and mechanically actuated plant shakers provided on the vehicle above said catcher floor and at opposite sides of the central floor division, means for movably mounting said shakers on said vehicle for limited lateral movement with respect to the longitudinal center of the vehicle in response to resistance of the plants as the vehicle is moved along the row.
 9. The device as defined in claim 8 wherein said catcher floor is mounted for limited lateral movement of the floor and of said plant shakers as a unit whereby the central floor division and the shakers may shift transversely of the row of plants.
 10. In a fruit harvester adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor including floor members extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor dividion where said sets of catcher means are bridged, means movably mounting said catcher floor for limited lateral movement whereby the central floor division may shift transversely with respect to the row of plants, and means for resiliently biasing said floor laterally in one direction.
 11. In a fruit harvester vehicle adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor including floor members extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor division where said sets of catcher means are bridged, means movably mounting said catcher floor for limited lateral movement whereby the central floor division may shift transversely with respect to the row of plants, and means mounting said fruit catcher means for angular adjustment in a vertical plane.
 12. In a fruit harvester adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided into two floor members for passing alonG opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor division where said sets of catcher means are bridged, means movably mounting said catcher floor for limited lateral movement whereby the central floor division may shift transversely with respect to the row of plants, and each fruit catcher means being hingedly mounted along an inner edge of a respective one of said catcher floor members.
 13. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the fruit catcher means are brush sets, and each brush set is shingled with flexible material and caused to vibrate.
 14. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the fruit catcher means are brush sets comprised of bristles of varied lengths.
 15. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a propelled chassis, fruit removal means and fruit discharge means operatively associated with said removal means, said discharge means including a longitudinally divided catcher floor having an intermediate passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said catcher floor comprising right and left hand sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending generally transversely across said passage and having fixed ends mounted on opposite sides of said passage with the internal free ends of said opposing sets of fruit catcher means terminating in the vicinity of said passage and means mounting said catcher floor on said chassis to insure lateral movement of the floor as a unit relative to said chassis as the vehicle is moved along the row of vines.
 16. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprises bristles.
 17. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles composed of relatively stiff flexible material.
 18. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles are shingled with thin sheet-like material, said shingling material forming a dam-like structure to retain fruit as said bristles are flexed by trunk resistance.
 19. The bristles set forth in claim 18 are in a supporting relationship to the shingling material.
 20. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 18 wherein fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles are hingedly mounted.
 21. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles are vibrated.
 22. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the right and left hand sets of fruit catcher means are of different flexibility from each other whereby said sets offer different resistances as they encounter the grape vine trunks.
 23. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles are mounted to move laterally to allow opposing sets of bridged bristles to align as the bristles encounter trunk resistance as the harvester advances.
 24. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles make up brush like opposing sets wherein the bristles of one set are of greater density than the other to increase resistance to bristle deflection by said trunks thereby affecting said passage path.
 25. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 15 wherein the fruit catcher means comprise bristles and the bristles make up brush like opposing sets wherein the bristles of one set are of more stiff construction than the other to increase its resistance to bristle deflection by said trunks thereby affecting said passage path.
 26. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a propelled chassis including fruit removal means and fruit discharge means operatively associated with said fruit removal means, said discharge means including a longitudinally divided catcher floor having an intermediate passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said catcher floor comprising right and left hand sets of fruit catcher means extending generaly transversely across said passage and terminating in the vicinity of said passage, and means mounted at generally right angles to said sets of fruit catcher means and at an elevation above said sets forming vine hurdles to free the fruit from vine entanglement.
 27. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a propelled chassis including fruit removal means and fruit discharge means operatively associated with said removal means, said discharge means including a longitudinally divided catcher floor having an intermediate passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said catcher floor comprising right and left hand sets of resistantly trunk flexed bristles extending generally transversely across said passage and having fixed ends mounted on opposite sides of said passage with the internal free ends of said opposing sets of bristles terminating in the vicinity of said passage, the sets of bristles being mounted for angular adjustment.
 28. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a propelled chassis including fruit removal means and fruit discharge means operatively associated with said removal means, said discharge means including a longitudinally divided catcher floor having an intermediate passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said catcher floor comprising right and left hand sets of resistantly trunk responsive fruit catcher means extending generally transversely across said passage and having fixed ends mounted on opposite sides of said passage with the internal free ends of said opposing sets of fruit catcher means terminating in the vicinity of said passage wherein the fruit catcher means are arranged in sets and in high and low rows in which the fruit catcher means in the lower row are shorter than the fruit catcher means in the upper row.
 29. A fruit harvester vehicle comprising a mobile frame adapted to travel along a row of vine trunks including some misaligned trunks, said harvester containing a longitudinally divided catcher floor comprising right and left hand floor members defining an opening longitudinally therebetween to permit passing said trunks as the frame is advanced along a line generally parallel to the mean of said misaligned trunks, said catcher floor having mounting means including means interconnecting said floor members to insure lateral movement of the floor as a unit relative to said harvester frame in response to trunks misaligned to the right or left of said mean line of travel of said harvester.
 30. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 29 including means whereby the lateral movement is resistantly directed in response to said trunks.
 31. A fruit harvester as set forth in claim 29 including means mounted on said frame to vibrate the catcher floor.
 32. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a mobile frame adapted to travel along a row of vine trunks and having fruit catcher means, and vine hurdle means mounted to extend generally upwardly from the fruit catcher means to raise the vines and free the grapes from entanglement.
 33. In a fruit harvester adapted to travel along a row of fruit bearing plants, a divided fruit catcher floor extending transversely of the row toward its longitudinal center where the floor is divided for passing along opposite sides of the plant row, said floor including two sets of resiliently flexible fruit catcher means extending transversely toward the central floor division where said sets of catcher means are bridged, and means operatively associated with the catcher floor and deformable by engagement with the plants for forming a dam to prevent dropping of fruit between the two sets of flexible catcher means.
 34. A fruit harvester for grapes and the like comprising a propelled chassis including fruit removal means and fruit dischArge means operatively associated with said removal means, said discharge means including a catcher floor having a passage for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances along a row of vines, said passage extending between right and left hand sets of fruit catcher means which extend generally transversely across said passage and terminate in the vicinity of said passage, and means operatively associated with the catcher floor and deformable by engagement with the plants and forming a dam to prevent dropping of fruit between the two sets of catcher means.
 35. A fruit harvester vehicle having fruit removal means and fruit discharge means, a divided fruit catcher floor adapted to receive fruit from said fruit removal means and transfer said fruit to said discharge means, said catcher floor including right and left hand sets of flexible fruit catcher means, providing a passage therebetween for vine trunks and the like as the harvester advances, said fruit catcher means being arranged to yieldingly bridge said passage and to provide continuous flow of fruit across the passage in a single direction toward said fruit discharge means.
 36. A fruit harvester as defined in claim 35 wherein the fruit catcher floor is downwardly inclined toward said fruit discharge means. 